ULCERATIVE GASTRITIS. 191 



The causes comprise irritants, fermented or putrid swill, decomposed 

 food, excess of brine, alkalies (washings from table dishes, hotels, etc.), 

 gastric parasites. 



The condition occurs also in hog cholera, swine plague, rouget, etc. 



The chief symptoms are : Inappetence, vomiting, uneasiness, colic, 

 constipation or diarrhoea, fever, stiffness, tense and tender abdomen, 

 arched back, frequent grunting, limpness of the tail. Sudden vomiting 

 may bring about a rapid recovery. 



Treatment calls for a complete change of food, which may include 

 freshly cooked roots, linseed or meal, butter milk, boiled milk, etc. 



As an emetic 30 grains of ipecacuanha may be given. Constipation 

 can be relieved by a dose of calomel or jalap. If diarrhoea is persistent 

 small doses of grey powder should be given, and to combat the irritation of 

 the gastric mucous membrane bismuth subnitrate is also useful. 



The piggery should be cleansed and disinfected, and the litter frequently 

 changed. 



ULCERATIVE GASTRITIS. 



Ulcerative gastritis (ulcer of the abomasum) is recognised after death, 

 but hitherto it has been impossible to so clearly identify the symptoms as 

 to permit of diagnosis during the animal's life. In has been found 

 after death in adults and in calves (Ostertag). 



Causation and Pathogeny. The cause of gastric ulceration is 

 decidedly obscure, though we know that certain forms occur during 

 infectious diseases like cattle plague, foot-and-mouth disease, gangrenous 

 coryza, and as a consequence of certain direct local infections; other 

 forms result from the administration of drugs; and finally some are of 

 secretory origin. 



In human medicine at the present day there is a tendency to refer 

 the development of round ulcer and ulcerative gastritis to the secretion of 

 an excess of hydrochloric acid. Probably the same cause may be at work 

 in domestic animals, but the proof has not yet been given. 



With regard to the pathogeny, the theories of embolism or of throm- 

 bosis of capillary vessels find favour with few authorities at the present 

 day. Yet these explanations are logical enough, for if we prevent 

 physiological irrigation of any given part, it is possible to conceive that 

 ulcer formation may follow from auto-digestion, i.e., from the simple 

 action of the gastric juice on a surface which is no longer protected. 



The theory of microbic origin has been advanced ; but although it may 

 be accepted in relation to the intestine, where the most varied organisms 

 abound, it is scarcely so applicable to the stomach, in which acidity is 

 always very marked and must exercise a very energetic antiseptic action. 

 In sucking calves, however, this theory appears the most plausible. 



